Night fell.
Uchiha Nan returned to his quarters. His exhausted body sank into the soft mattress, and both body and mind began to recover.
"Manji, right there!"
"Harder!!"
"Don't go easy on me!!!"
Manji was giving Uchiha Nan a vigorous massage. Whenever he found a pressure point, he went at it with gusto. His technique was practiced—he was already an excellent masseur.
His soft, paw-pad-like hands kept stroking Uchiha Nan's body, easing his taut muscles. It was pure bliss.
And the price was a bargain: just one bottle of catnip!
In his drowsy haze, Uchiha Nan went over what he had done that day.
After Uchiha Nan accepted the Tomoe and became Clan Head, the Uchiha elders eagerly arranged a grand inauguration ceremony for him, afraid he might suddenly change his mind about taking the position.
Naturally, it was held at Naka Shrine. The little room inside was packed with people, and in the end, there still wasn't enough space, so some had to stand outside and watch.
The succession process was, of course, a little tedious, but that didn't matter. He was already there, after all.
The only thing Uchiha Nan really cared about was that stone tablet.
The one that had completely fooled Madara Uchiha.
Although Uchiha Nan already knew the truth—that the Moon's Eye Plan was nothing more than a pyramid scheme using a corporate shell to go public.
It was meant to use Madara Uchiha's body to resurrect Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Still, he wanted to see what sort of nonsense Black Zetsu had written.
"A beautiful goddess was born upon this continent: the Rabbit Goddess."
"Before the goddess appeared, the continent was still engulfed in war, and countless people died every day in all manner of conflicts.
The kind-hearted goddess could not bear to see people suffer, so she used her wisdom and power to build a great nation.
A long era of peace began. The goddess also bore two sons, whom she named Hagoromo and Hamura. I, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, am her son. The people of that time called me the Sage of Six Paths.
But the good times did not last. The perfect nation my mother had created still could not bring eternal peace. Even a long period of peace could not prevent ambitious people from emerging, and war once again swept across the continent.
Mother stood up once more. With her unmatched power, she swiftly ended the war and punished those responsible.
The continent enjoyed another period of peace, but the cycle kept repeating.
So Mother began to consider how to bring true peace to the Ninja world. Before long, she devised a Ninjutsu unlike any other. Sadly, she disappeared before she could put it into practice.
I inherited my mother's legacy, hoping to bring everlasting peace to the Ninja world, but I chose not to follow her methods. I believed she had gone too far.
I traveled across the entire continent, using the power I had inherited from Mother. As I wiped out the evil spirits and monsters that plagued the land, I searched for a way to bring peace to the Ninja world.
After many years of practice, I discovered that my mother's power could be condensed into a Chakra seed and passed on to others. Those who possessed a Chakra seed could resonate with one another spiritually, understanding each other through Chakra in an instant.
I believed that tolerance and love could help people understand one another. If people could understand each other, peace would come.
And I had already overcome the one obstacle that had once stood in the way. I looked forward to the arrival of eternal peace.
But I was wrong—terribly wrong.
Those who possessed Chakra gradually gained power beyond that of ordinary people. They used Chakra to create Ninjutsu, and wars on an even greater scale than before began.
The wars continued for a long time.
After much reflection, I began to study my mother's path. At last, following her line of thought, I created a Ninjutsu that could cover the entire Ninja world—a technique that could bring about eternal peace!
Unfortunately, my time is running out. I have grown old and frail, and no longer have the strength to perform this technique.
I can only place my hopes in future generations.
The conditions required to perform the Ninjutsu are—"
The writing that followed was a blur. Only the ocular power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan could make it legible.
To be fair, Black Zetsu had come up with a pretty convincing story.
After suffering through war, Madara Uchiha had used his and Hashirama's overwhelming strength to bring a brief peace to the entire Ninja world. But beneath the surface, tensions still simmered, and conflicts continued to flare up.
Once Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju died, the Ninja world would return to war. And that was without even considering how Hashirama had united the various shinobi clans into a single hidden village. Future wars would be even more brutal than those of the Warring States Period.
In the past, wars had been fought between clans. Now they would be fought between hidden villages, and the fighting would be far more intense than before.
Madara Uchiha knew this all too well. His journey of thought bore a striking resemblance to that of the Rabbit Goddess and the Sage of Six Paths a thousand years earlier.
Hashirama Senju's approach simply wouldn't work. Disillusioned, Madara Uchiha had left Konoha and decided to follow the path of the Sage of Six Paths.
How pitiful. Truly pitiful!
What was Madara Uchiha doing at that moment?
No doubt he was clinging to life in some dark underground hideout, endlessly trying to awaken the Rinnegan.
Uchiha Nan silently mourned Madara Uchiha for three seconds. Black Zetsu's whole scheme had pressed right on the Uchiha clan's sorest spot.
Any Uchiha who awakened the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had to have gone through an incredibly dark experience, leaving them disillusioned with the entire world.
The Moon's Eye Plan was undoubtedly a guiding light, leading Madara Uchiha straight into the trap.
But none of that would fool me!
Uchiha Nan felt rather pleased with himself. He couldn't help imagining that if luck ever smiled on him and he pulled a top-tier prize, only to receive a Chakra Fruit, wouldn't that be incredible?
If he ever saw Black Zetsu, he'd make him call him Dad.
Thinking of Kaguya Otsutsuki's cool temperament, her fair skin, and the horns on her head—those would make things convenient, too.
Just imagining it made him—
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Manji's massage left Uchiha Nan tingling all over. His mind wandered into decidedly inappropriate fantasies, and he drifted off to sleep in bliss.
Uchiha Nan was sleeping soundly, but on the other side of Konoha, the lights were still on in the room of the Hyuga Clan Head.
Hyuga Takuma was too anxious to sleep.
He was genuinely panicking!
The news that Hokage Tobirama Senju had died had been confirmed. As soon as Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, Torifu Akimichi, and Shimura Danzō—the other four members of the six-person group—returned home, their clans had surrounded them inside and out. The families had already extracted most of the information they carried.
Hyuga Takuma had naturally gathered all that information with ease. Before one crisis had passed, another had arisen: the Uchiha had caused another uproar.
Quietly, the Uchiha Clan Head had been replaced. The current Uchiha Clan Head, Uchiha Nan, had awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan. The power of the great demon king Madara Uchiha had reappeared in Konoha!
Hyuga Takuma felt that Konoha was like a barrel of gunpowder, ready to explode at the slightest spark—and take the entire Hyuga Clan with it.
There was danger, but also opportunity. Hyuga Takuma didn't want to drift with the current and sit back, waiting for disaster.
"How are things with Mito-sama?"
"I visited her last time, and she said she wasn't feeling well. Is there any news now?"
Hyuga Takuma asked. Hyuga Kunihiko, who stood beside him in attendance, immediately answered respectfully:
"Not yet, Clan Head."
"Mito-sama has stayed behind closed doors, and nothing has come from the Senju Clan."
Hyuga Takuma sighed. He had originally planned to meet with Mito Uzumaki to discuss Konoha's future and the choice of Third, but Mito Uzumaki hadn't given him any opportunity.
Now the Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and even with things in such a state, there was still no reply. He had no idea what it meant.
Hyuga Takuma's face twisted with indecision. After a while, he finally made up his mind and spoke:
"Go. Make the arrangements for tomorrow."
"I want to meet with the new Uchiha Clan Head. Make sure you don't draw attention."
"Yes."
Before you continue